Rask sets Bruins wins record with shutout against Capitals

WASHINGTON -- Tuukka Rask became the Boston Bruins all-time leader in wins by a goalie, making 24 saves in a 1-0 victory against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Sunday.

David Krejci scored for Boston (28-17-7), which ended a 14-game losing streak (0-11-3) against the Capitals. Boston had not defeated Washington since March 29, 2014.
Rask (253 wins) passed Cecil "Tiny" Thompson. It was Rask's second shutout of the season and the 43rd in the NHL.
WATCH: [All Bruins vs. Capitals highlights]
"I enjoy it, obviously, but it doesn't change anything, really, in my mind during the season or even after the season," Rask said. "It's just your name is in the history books, that's about it. And then someday somebody else is going to come and break it, so hopefully I can put up a couple more and get some cushion."
Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said, "He's done a great job for the Bruins organization for years, and his performance tonight was excellent. He was in control all night. We were pretty clean in front of him there till then end, and when we weren't, he was there for us."

Braden Holtby made 38 saves for Washington (28-18-6), which is 1-6-2 in its past eight games.
"We started to play our game in the last period and that's not enough," Capitals defenseman Michal Kempny said. "It's as simple as that. Obviously, it's a very tough loss. We have to be better."
After being outshot 30-13 over the first two periods, the Capitals made a push in the third period without success.
"Couple times Rask made some good saves," Washington forward T.J. Oshie said. "Looks were there. We've just got to find a way to put one in."
Boston is 1-1-2 in its past four games.
Krejci scored at 10:43 of the second period on a one-timer from the left circle off a cross-ice feed from Torey Krug.

Each team went 0-for-3 on the power play.
Washington forward Alex Ovechkin returned after a one-game suspension for skipping the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend. He remains tied with Sergei Fedorov (1,179) for most career points by a Russia-born player.
"Oh, I'm so happy [Ovechkin] didn't get it on me," Rask said. "I didn't know that. That would've been in my head if I knew that. That's good. I'm not facing them again, so that's good. [Jaromir] Jagr already got I think one of his milestones on me."
Capitals coach Todd Reirden sat Dmitrij Jaskin and Evgeny Kuznetsov for large stretches of the first period after they each took early penalties. The Capitals have taken a League-high 191 minor penalties this season.
"I think as you get past the all-star break and you start making a push toward the playoffs, that's an area we have to get better in, as we've taken far too many minor penalties with our sticks," Reirden said. "We have to be more disciplined if we're going to have success moving forward from here, and I thought the last 30 games is a good time to implement that."

They said it

"It definitely gives us a little bit of confidence if we were to match up with them down the road. But we've played a lot of good games against them, just haven't been getting the results. It's nice to finally get it." -- Bruins defenseman Torey Krug on ending the 14-game losing streak to the Capitals
"If you had asked me if they had beat us in the last couple of years I would have probably said yeah. So, I had no idea. They always give us a good game it feels like. Tonight, they were the better team. We've got to come out of the gates a little hotter." -- Capitals forward T.J. Oshie

Need to know

Rask improved to 2-11-5 against Washington. … The Bruins are 19-1-2 when leading after two periods. … Boston forward David Patrnak has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in his past eight games. … Washington defenseman Christian Djoos was assigned Sunday to Hershey of the American Hockey League on a long-term injury assignment. Djoos had surgery on his left thigh on Dec. 14 and has missed 22 games.

What's next

Bruins: Host the New York Islanders on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; NESN, MSG+ 2, NHL.TV)
Capitals: Host the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET: SN1, SNE, SNO, SNP, NBCSWA, NHL.TV)